The subject matter disclosed herein relates to the art of circuit breakers and, more particularly, to a conductor guide member for a circuit breaker terminal assembly.
Circuit breakers, such as those employed in various industrial applications, include multiple sections that may be field repaired and/or replaced. For example, many circuit breakers include a main body, an upper terminal assembly, and a lower terminal assembly. The upper terminal assembly generally includes contacts connected to upper terminals. The upper terminals are generally connected to an electrical load. The lower terminal assembly generally includes electrical contacts connected to lower terminals that are generally connected to an electrical source. The terminal assembly also typically includes a moving arm that shifts moveable contacts into and out of engagement with the electrical contacts in the upper terminal assembly. The moveable contacts are typically connected to the lower terminals through foils or conductors.
Disassembly of the lower terminal assembly for repair often times requires disconnecting the conductors from the lower terminals. Field removal of the conductors is very difficult at best. Reconnecting the conductors with the lower terminals in the field is even more difficult if not impossible. Aligning connection points on the conductors and the lower terminals in the field is difficult if not impossible at times. Accordingly, field repair of the terminal assembly is often times a frustrating and time consuming operation. Thus, in most cases, repair of the terminal assembly requires the complete removal of the circuit breaker. Complete removal of the circuit breaker increases the time involved with implementing a repair procedure.